The International Journal of Indian Psychology

ISSN 2348-5396 (e) | ISSN: 2349-3429 (p)

Volume 2, Issue 3, Paper ID: B00303V2I32015
http://www.ijip.in | April to June 2015

Grief, Traumatic Loss and Coping following Bereavement:

Case Study of Women
Salma Kaneez1
ABSTRACT:
Loss of a loved one is a very painful and often a traumatic experience for most of the people. The
burden of the loss can be carried over a life time or laid down. Grief is a profound and complex
response for those who have been left behind. There found different gender reactions in grief and
traumatic event. Women tend to experience more intense emotional reactions such as shock,
denial, anger, depression that may linger on for quite some time, especially when they were
widow and mother. Individuals grieve differently, yet coping with bereavement depends upon
the personal characteristics, available support, coping mechanism, faith and self concept of
sufferers. Using the case study approach, this article explores the grief, trauma (psychological
response) and coping pattern among bereaved women while struggling with the loss. The cases
of three Muslim women widowed during the last one year were analyzed. Findings highlight the
importance of social support, religious or spiritual beliefs, traumatic growth in bereavement and
coping with the loss of a family member.
Keywords: grief, trauma, bereavement, coping.

Bereavement is a universal life experience individuals have to grapple with the loss of a loved
one. The human loss is mostly carries immense psychological burden that can be carried over a
life time or laid down. The sense of irrevocability makes death a stressful event that often gives
way to emotional crisis for the bereaved. Spousal bereavement is considered one of the most
devastating losses during the life course, which can lead to decreased well-being and functioning
with the experience of multiple negative emotions including sadness, helplessness, anger
(Dutton and Zisook, 2005) and depression (Segrist, 2008). Grief is the emotional response to
loss, the complex amalgam of painful affects including sadness, anger, helplessness, guilt and
despair (Raphael, 1984). Grief is therefore a normal reaction to loss and refers to the distress
resulting from the bereavement. It is multidimensional with physical, behavioral and meaning
component. It is characterized by a complex set of cognitive, emotional and social adjustment
that follows the death of a loved one.
1

UGC Post Doctoral Fellow in the Dept. of Psychology, AMU.,Aligarh.

2015 I S Kaneez; licensee IJIP. This is an Open Access Research distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use,
distribution, and reproduction in any Medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Grief, Traumatic Loss and Coping following Bereavement: Case Study of Women

Although people vary in the types of grief they express (Christ G. et al., 2003), most grieving
people show similar patterns of intense distress, anxiety, yearning, sadness, preoccupation and
these symptoms gradually settle overtime.
Working through grief is a painful process for most of the people. Results of previous researches
show that patterns of adjustment to bereavement are influenced by various factors including
spirituality (Bisconti et al., 2004). In addition, grief reactions appear to be stronger when coping
mechanism are not appropriate for the loss, when the bereaved person does not receive adequate
support (Macias et al., 2004) and widows show stronger grief reaction than men (Shear et al.,
2006 and Neria et al., 2007). All bereavements are traumatic, but vary in outcomes. Partners
death among women in particular is the most traumatic loss, because it leads to a loss of identity
resulting in increased level of emotional and social loneliness.
OBJECTIVE:
The present study aimed to examine the perception of loss following bereavement, psychological
reactions to loss (grief), and the coping resources the respondents (widows) used to deal with the
conjugal loss.
METHODOLOGY:
In the present study, the case study method was adopted for data collection. The participants
were three recently bereaved (within 1 year of loss) Muslim widows with age range of 40 to 50
years. All were middle class women, non-working and literate (above 10 years of schooling).
The instruments for data collection were the observation and semi-structured interview schedule.
The schedule contained items pertaining to the initial reactions to death, view about death and
dying, psychological responses, available support, coping resources and positive or negative part
of their experience. Being a sensitive subject, the participants already acquainted with the
researcher, were made agreed to share their experiences as part of the research to investigate into
peoples attitude to death and bereavement.
Case -1:
A 40 years old widow with two young children lost her husband aged 48 due to severe liver
infection within three months of diagnosis. Having a nuclear family and dependent status, it was
a shock for her. Since the deceased was under regular doctors advice, the family did not expect
the loss so early. She said, We were hoping that he would soon be alright but he left us. She
could not foresee how to take care of her family and manage all things. She said, I was so
hopeless and distressed that I could not comprehend what to do? Symptoms of sadness,
difficulty in falling asleep, helplessness and disbelief were the initial responses to death. She told
that relatives and friends took every responsibility of the last journey of the deceased. She was
thankful to her parents and relatives who counseled her to play dual role for the sake of her
children. She was made to realize that her children were disturbed, as they became irregular to
school and studies. Faith in God and asking His help to resolve the crisis was her submission.
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Grief, Traumatic Loss and Coping following Bereavement: Case Study of Women

She revealed, It is very difficult .. but we are alive to keep his (deceased) memory in our heart
forever. Fulfilling husbands dream seemed the only reason to stay back into life.
Case -2:
A 57 years old government employee died of cancer diagnosed three months before. It was a
traumatic loss for the 45 years old widow and three dependent children (above 14 years of age).
Medical care for cancer patient itself added financial burden to the family. Death of the head of
the family resulted in sadness, depression, uncertainty, helplessness, anxiety followed by
financial woes and blame on doctors. Their strong spiritual and religious belief helped them
while confronting and accepting the loss due to death. They had poor social support and
connection. Hence, psychological difficulties got linger on before their taking refuge into
religion for final solace. She exclaimed with sorrow, Only God has to rescue us. The gradual
decline in their sufferings was possible through their belief in God and hope that elder son aged
20 years would take over the charge of family responsibilities.
Case -3:
A woman aged 47 years with her five children was traumatized upon the sudden death of her
husband, 52 years (Government employee) due to heart attack. The acceptance of death was very
difficult. The sudden departure of loving and caring man led to the feeling of anger, numbness,
disbelief, anxiety among family members. Question of survival, role change, financial
uncertainty and marriage prospects of daughters were the harsh realities she visualized. She said
with certainty, it was like a darkness, but Allah will save us. It took longer time to recover
from the loss before they learned to calm down. The support of family acquaintances and kin
relationship were quite helpful in healing. Being a Muslim, acceptance of Gods will and finding
support through prayers were the important resources. The family worked through the grief that
finally subdued when the elder son came forward to shoulder the responsibilities in the absence
of his father.
Interpretative analysis of the above cases brings into focus the following three main themes;
(a) Grief and Women :
Death of a loved one always poses problems in recovering from the loss. There found different
reactions by the bereaved depending upon the nature and circumstances of death, relationship
with the deceased and personal characteristics. The sudden death with little or no preparation
results in more abrupt and difficult grieving process. Besides the normal grief in loss, the
suddenness and untimely (unexpected) death carry extra burden of shock and the sense of being
broken and overwhelmed. There is no opportunity to anticipate and for getting through the loss
and resultant grief. For example in Case-3, the respondent lost her husband during the very first
heart attack. It was a traumatic event for the entire family over gripped by severe emotional
conditions such as shock, denial, numbness, yearning persisted for quite some time. Initially, it
was hard to believe dying and death but gradually they learned to live without the deceased.
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Grief, Traumatic Loss and Coping following Bereavement: Case Study of Women

Given the Indian social milieu, death of a spouse is very traumatic for a woman in the sense a
long relationship comes to an end. The emotional feelings in response to death sometimes
intensified by the anticipated financial worries, if the deceased happened to be the only breadwinner. As common in all three cases, the post-death scenario necessitated a major social
adjustment for the surviving spouse to parent alone, face single life and find some alternative
employment or source of income.
(b) Bereavement and Social Support:
The most important factor in healing from loss is enlisting the support of the people. While
dealing with death, the support bereaved received is crucial because it affects their ability to cope
and recover from the personal trauma. It is natural to vent the feelings while grieving, as sharing
the loss makes the burden of grief easier to carry. Indian collectivistic culture and traditions
fortunately created a dominant atmosphere of sharing and cooperation in the midst of
bereavement (death). The involvement of religious community is beneficial while negotiating
with the loss. The bereavement is not limited to the immediate family, rather it impacts the whole
social framework. In all our cases, the bereaved individuals got and utilized available support as
the coping resource to tackle pain and suffering in loss. Researches suggest that family/ social
support is instrumental in understanding and handling bereavement and associated grief as an
inseparable part of human experience. Respondents viewed that social visits by the family people
and friends brought a sense of relief and togetherness. Therefore, sharing time and talking with
bereaved sympathetically were significant elements for social environment congenial in grieving
and healing process.
(c) Religion/ Spirituality and Bereavement:
The beliefs and practices that stems from culturalreligious worldview reflects how people
respond to bereavement. Religion and spirituality are significant constructs associated with
bereavement that may act as buffers to declining physical and mental health status (Richardson,
2007). Spiritual and religious perspectives provide many resources for understanding and coping
with loss. In the context of death, Muslims, for instance, consider acceptance of fate, belief in its
being and expression of Gods will as the basic tenant in Islam. Prolong public expression of
grief and ritualized morning are discouraged in Islamic practice which places great value on the
acceptance of Gods (Allahs) will with restraint and understanding (Rubin & Yasein-Ismael,
2004). The religious faith provides guidance to people about coping with loss, teaching spiritual
beliefs and perception that treat death as another life transition within the life cycle of an
individual. All participants in our study have faith in their religion and asked Gods help to deal
with the crisis, as evident from their statements. The first respondent expressed thus, It is very
difficult to live with the loss, but Allah helps me and gave me courage and strength to face the
reality. Whenever I feel depressed or anxious I recite Quran and pray God to forgive my
husband and place his soul in peace. In Case-2, the widow described her state in similar words,
I pray Allah to shower mercy on my husband and children. Life and death are pre-determined
by Him. We have only to follow. Respondent-3 told, Now we have learned to live without him.
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Grief, Traumatic Loss and Coping following Bereavement: Case Study of Women

Perhaps it was Allahs will. When I felt depressed and helpless, I asked Him to help me. It is
none but Allah who will give us strength to carry on the task left by my husband. I used to recite
Quran, pray God to forgive us and do charity regularly to restore harmony in the life after
death. The subjective responses of the participants revealed that the religious beliefs influence
the process of coping with bereavement. Through the use of cognitive assimilation strategies,
positive coping comes into play as the individual attempts to frame that loss within a pre-existing
religious and spiritual schemas (Michael et al., 2003; Pargament, 1997). The finding is consistent
with the previous research that found spirituality to have a positive impact on managing
bereavement process and a belief in after life can generate a greater acceptance of death of a
spouse (Dezulter et al., 2009; Walsh et al., 2002).
Participants spoke of a number of rituals or religious- spiritual practices (prayer, reciting Quran,
charity) which facilitated emotional processing, reinforcing their sense of identity, relationships
and social engagements. All religious traditions prescribe specific prayers, behaviors and funeral
ceremonies to deal with death, which comfort mourners and give them a sense of belonging to a
broader community (Wuthnow et al., 1980). Through these resources, individuals may find
solace and comfort and over time, working through their grief in ways that allow them to find
peace and acceptance and to return to their normal daily lives (Halifax, 2008). Religious /
spiritual beliefs help sufferers to find meaning for the life and death of their deceased. One
respond told, It was unbelievable to live without my husband, but God did what was good for
him. Another respondent stated, He was in tremendous pain, now Allah has freed him of all
pains. Of course normal life is forever changed after the loss of spouse, but it created better
understanding with life, death, and new situations among the widowed
CONCLUSION:
In sum, spousal bereavement is the most traumatic life cycle event for women and those left
behind, often resulting in major social, psychological and spiritual transitions. It disturbs the vital
functions within the family such as parenting functions including emotional nurturing, education
and protection. Acceptance of a loss of loved one requires time and shift in cognitive and
emotional approach to living. Social support is essential to successful grief reconciliation.
Among the coping strategies utilized by the bereaved, religious coping is recognized as the most
valuable resource. Religious coping enhances a persons psychological resource, e.g., sense of
mastery and self esteem and help the individual to build an interpretative frame work (Siegel, et
al, 2001) or cognitive schema (e.g., search for and finding meaning).Acceptance of fate and
belief being the expression of Gods will as enshrined in Islam, were commonly invoked by the
Muslim widows. In the loss, the ultimate focus remained on the relationship with God. In fact the
connectedness with God, religion and community of believers serve to heal the sense of
loneliness and bereftness (acute emotional deprivation) that the widow feels so acutely. The
relationship with God helps to provide support and strength, reduces loss of control and
helplessness. Moreover, religious beliefs and practices provide a cognitive framework that can
decrease suffering and strengthen ones purpose and meaning in the face of trauma (Pargament,

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Grief, Traumatic Loss and Coping following Bereavement: Case Study of Women

1997). Hence, bereaved seeks control through a partnership with God, asks Gods forgiveness for
himself and deceased. The findings underline the need to develop counseling techniques and
infrastructure where the social support is lacking. In contrast to man, women allowed greater
latitude in expressing emotional turmoil during significant loss. They are more defined by
relationships which prohibit them to return to their normal functioning quickly. It is therefore
recommended that women may be encouraged to equip themselves with the skill oriented
education and training to meet economic uncertainties consequent to the spousal death.

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